The Scarlet Letter may be a classic, but keeping high schoolers engaged in the reading of Hawthorne's vocabulary, syntax, imagery, and historical references presents it own set of challenges. Here's a guide that offers readers...

Every book has a few great characters, but James and the Giant Peach is the only one whose characters travel in a piece of fruit. The class creates T-charts for the main characters of the novel, while reading the book. They write actions...

Students respond to Holocaust literature. In this interactive history lesson, students select quotes from chapter 1 of Elie Wiesel's Night and reflect on their meaning as they record their thoughts on poetic, prose, comic. or picture form.

Students read a chapter in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and define new words for their dictionaries. For this vocabulary lesson students choose two or three assignment from a list of projects and complete it using...

Students preview the novel, "Dragonwings," by Laurence Yep, make connections between the novel previewed and their prior knowledge, other texts, and the world. They utilize graphic representations including charts, graphs, pictures, and...

Students determine the story elements of typical mystery stories including characters and plot structure. They look at vocabulary that is common to mystery stories before reading and responding to mystery chapter books. Working in guided...

Learners complete a variety of comprehension activities related to the novel "Freak the Mighty" by Rodman Philbrick. They complete a learning log for each chapter, examine the purpose of signal words "because" and "but," define key...

Middle schoolers read chapter books by Gary Paulsen. In groups, they identify imagery presented in the book. Students locate 10 quotes, categorize each quote into one of the five senses, and then organize it and create a display of their...

Eighth graders analyze the philosophy of government in the Declaration of Independence. As a class, they discuss how this philosophy has caused other revolutions in history and how well it supports our natural rights. In groups, they...

Break down the parts of argumentative writing with a critical thinking activity. High schoolers read an article of your (or their choice), and use a graphic organizer to delineate the ways the author structures his or her arguments.

Using the book Bandits, Bears, and Backaches, learners develop an understanding of the pre-history of Arkansas. They follow the trail ofthe giants mastodons and paleo Indians who lived there long ago. The emphasis on this lesson is on...

Middle schoolers read a novel and discuss character personality. First, they analyze a character in a novel and keep a chart or web of the character's identity, which includes specific examples from the book. They then write a script...

Young scholars decide on which chapter book they would like to read. They read the book, discussing certain chapters to keep the ending of the story a secret to slower readers. Each day they get into groups with students who are reading...

Sixth graders meet in small groups to reflect on and share their thoughts after reading a short story, poem, or chapter in a novel. Groups of students utilize a book share evaluation worksheet that's imbedded in this plan.

Fifth graders create a graphic organizer after it is modeled by the teacher.  In this graphic organizer lesson, 5th graders complete a graphic organizer describing chapter 1 of a book.  Graphic organizers will be revised and...

Third graders practice reading skills by reading a story and answering questions over that story. In this Horrible Harry and the Green Slime lesson, 3rd graders answer questions over story elements, vocabulary, and comprehension. They...

Fourth graders study the role of money in society and define how to earn an income. In this human capital lesson, 4th graders read the book Shoeshine Girl and discuss it. Students discuss various economic concepts and complete the...

Fifth graders complete several activities to learn about earning, budgeting, and saving money. In this saving money activity, 5th graders read a book about saving money and complete a 'Savings and Earnings' worksheet. Students work in...

Fifth graders read a book and complete several correlating activities to learn how to start their own business. In this economic and math lesson, 5th graders read the book The Toothpaste Millionaire. Students define the term...

Fourth graders read The Secret School. In this language arts lesson plan, 4th graders discuss the characters in the story and read aloud using fluency while reading. Students write a summary of the chapter.

Fifth graders complete activities with Chapter 9 of the book The Fastest Pig in the West by Randi Hacker. In this literature lesson, 5th graders discuss the concept of saving face and how it affects the main character's decisions....

Students travel to Rome. In this geography skills lesson, students explore famous places in Rome with Google Earth tools. Students research the city of Rome and create touring brochures of the city from the perspectives of past emperors...

Pupils discuss how to spend money wisely. In this consumer math lesson, students read the book, Mr. Popper's Penguins and discuss how much it costs to take care of a pet. Pupils complete a worksheet to calculate the total cost of pet care.

Third graders identify the main characters in the Ingalls family and describe the relationships between the characters. They locate the setting of the book on a map of the Upper Mid- West. Students understand that the books are set in...